Nephilim, Vol. 1

By Anna Hanamaki
Aurora Publishing, 192 pp.
Rating: Older Teen (16+)

Screwball comedy? Gender-confused bodice-ripper? Homage to Moto Hagio? In a word, yes—the very silly but totally entertaining Nephilim is all those things. All it needs to put it over the top is a mangafied likeness of Fabio on the cover.

The story focuses on Gai, a studly soldier, and Abel, a waifish creature who’s male during the day and female at night. The two meet cute, manga-style: on a moonlit night, Gai spies Abel bathing in a spring. In a vain effort to restore her compromised honor, Abel grabs a knife and lunges at Gai without pausing to grab a towel or a kimono. (Not to worry—Abel never flashes more than a bellybutton at readers, thanks to some strategically places tresses. Janet Jackson might find Nephilim instructive.) After failing miserably, Abel begins trailing Gai everywhere he goes, vainly waiting for another opportunity to strike. Gai, for his part, finds Abel’s unwavering commitment to killing him a sure sign that they’re meant for each other. As their romance blossoms, Abel confesses the real reason she must kill Gai: if she fails to do so, she’ll die from The Curse, an affliction that befalls Nephilim who’ve been seen in their true, i.e. nocturnal, form.

I’d be the first to admit that Nephilim isn’t a good manga in any conventional sense of the word. The art, for example, is uneven. Manga-ka Anna Hanamaki draws handsome faces and gorgeous hair, but has difficulty creating visually distinctive backdrops—or even deciding in what century the story takes place. (Some scenes are set in what looks like feudal Europe, others in what appears to be a modern American city, complete with its own Holiday Inn.) The characters, too, leave something to be desired. Though Gai seems smitten with Abel, the pairing isn’t convincing. We never learn what he sees in her—frankly, she seems like a pain—nor do we learn enough about him to guess at the attraction: does she remind him of his mother? his first love?

I still liked it.

To get in the right frame of mind to read Nephilim, I strongly encourage you to recreate the summer camp experience: find a few giggly friends, turn off the lights, bust out the flashlight and the contraband candy. You may discover, as I did, that Nephilim reminds you of the tawdry paperbacks that everyone stowed under their mattresses—books filled with overripe dialogue, ridiculous plot twists, and steamy encounters (or what passed for a steamy encounter in the estimation of an inexperienced fourteen-year-old). Yes, my inner snob is embarrassed to admit just how much I enjoyed Forever and Sweet Valley High: Playing With Fire back in the day. But boy, were they fun to read, offering unadulterated escapism in a neat little package—just like Nephilim.

Volume one of Nephilim is available now.

White Night Melody, Vol. 1

By Selena Lin
Tokyopop, 192 pp.
Rating: Teen (13+)

Colleen and Jing Ping, a pair of old, very lively dolls, suddenly find themselves (through a run-in with a fishbowl and some magic marbles) human again. With their newfound power comes a whole new set of challenges, but no shelf life could ever have prepared them for the biggest battleground of all: modern day high school! Worse still, something decidedly sinister is going on, and it all seems related to their past—if only they could remember it.

As one might infer from my summary, White Night Melody is a mess. The confusion begins from page one with an almost assumed familiarity with the characters that will leave most readers convinced they’ve picked up a mislabeled volume two. The disparity is so startling that I was compelled to hit the internet in search of an answer—only to find that White Night Melody is the third part in an interlinked trilogy of series. Combined with sloppy character development overall, the plot quickly descends into a lackluster bag of clichés and ever-predictable flashbacks populated by people we’ve never met before, although Chinese readers apparently have.

Clunking around in the mess are the two protagonists themselves, little more than pasteboard stand-ins for the usual tropes. Might as well just know them as “dominant, protective male protagonist” and “clumsy damsel in distress,” since it’s a struggle just to hold on to their names. Toss in a half-hearted romantic rival for each, and you’ve got the makings of one of the poorest, blandest schoolyard romances print has ever seen. The tension is barely extant, the chemistry, nonexistent. To boot, there’s a Secret Past Mystery lurking around in here somewhere, but if who can focus it when every literary fiber of one’s being cries out in pain?

The art, at least, looks better in comparison to the trainwreck it conveys. Lin’s heroines are saucer-eyed, sparkly, and frequently surrounded by oodles of rosy screentones: it could almost be a parody of the genre itself. Perhaps accordingly, panels have a tendency to get overcrowded on a regular basis. Rich textures are fine, but the artistic claustrophobia they trigger is less than pleasing to the eye. Unexplainably, Tokyopop chose an almost doodle-esque piece of scrap art for the front cover, a questionable choice when even the panels look complex and masterful by comparison. Then again, maybe that’s the warning sign—a kind of literary aposematism, perhaps.

It’s impossible to recommend White Night Melody with a clear conscience. Perhaps if it arrived accompanied by its manhua brethren it might prove at least vaguely palatable, but the abysmal nature of the work suggests that when it comes to this trilogy, less may be more. If you have sufficiently depleted the manga reserves this country offers and are left with only White Night Melody, well…it may be time to consider picking up a good print book again.

Volume one of White Night Melody is available now.

Gimmick! Vol. 1

By Youzaburou Kanari and Kuroko Yabuguchi
Viz, 224 pp.
Rating: T+ for Older Teen

“SFX isn’t just about recreating reality,” says Shohei Nagase, the main character of Gimmick! “It’s about using gimmicks to do reality one better!”

The same could be said about the series, which boasts cool characters, fast-paced plots, and stylized artwork. Gimmick! really is a fun and exciting diversion, but what’s especially great is the reliance on human ingenuity over strength or swordplay.

Apparently, the Japanese movie industry is full of damsels in distress and dastardly villains, and Shohei Nagase, part-time make-up and special effects genius, keeps getting himself caught up in their shenanigans. Luckily, his “Studio Gimmick!” crew also consists of a stuntman named Kannazuki who handles all the physical stuff, including car chases and fisticuffs. Nagase’s also packing a “Sacred Silver Spatula,” which combined with his fast hands allows him to create almost any illusion. In a matter of minutes or hours, he can make anyone look like somebody else, render himself unrecognizable, and much, much more.

There is something about the characters in Gimmick! that I found extremely likable, especially Nagase, who is both a working-class Joe and a movie dork with particular affection for old monster movies. Artist Kuroko Yabuguchi captures his childlike enthusiasm perfectly with lots of full-page panels. Meanwhile, writer Youzaburou Kanari gives him lots of portentous-sounding lines like, “My gimmicks have the power to alter reality. Your future… is in your hands now.”

Indeed, Nagase is limited only by his imagination, which makes him something altogether different from the standard action hero. Slightly built, he can’t use brute force or agility to get out of scrapes, and although his hands are quick enough to resemble a blur to most observers, Nagase’s brain has to be equally nimble to come up with solutions on the fly.

Finally, Gimmick! is fascinating because it shows the step-by-step process of Nagase’s illusions and how he creates them. Is it all accurate? Who knows, but readers will feel privy to professional secrets, and maybe learn a few things to impress guests at the next movie industry cocktail party they attend. Clearly, the writer loves movies himself, and Gimmick! is peppered with little trivia bits about classic films: Learn how filmmakers used SFX to stage Sonny Corleone’s assassination in The Godfather! The influence of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead on Japanese cinema! How fake wrinkles get applied! All that, plus lots of fast action and occasional female nudity, make the ability to enjoy Gimmick! akin to Nagase’s illusions: truly limitless.

Volume one of Gimmick! will be available on June 10th.

Black Cat, Vols. 14-15

By Kentaro Yaduki
Published by Viz
Rating: Teen + (Older Teen)

In volume 14 of Black Cat, our intrepid trio of bounty hunters, Train, Eve and Sven, begin the unenviable task of hunting down the evil Creed Diskenth! This involves some intensive training, and a duel with the Sweeper called River to gather information on his location. While volume 15 kicks off the opening rounds of an assault upon Creed Diskenth’s forces as our heroes team with a small group of Sweepers, including River, to take on Creed and his super powered minions, the Disciples of the Stars. Unfortunately for them they vastly under estimated the Disciples and quickly find themselves ambushed, separated and spread out over Creed’s private island. Can our heroes survive their respective battles with the Disciples? Can they trust the other Sweepers they’ve just teamed with? And exactly how did the guy get the information on Creed’s location anyway…?

The art is slick and solid, the contemporary nature of the setting is a nice twist from the generic fantasy world that most shonen series inhabit, unfortunately we don’t get to see much action in an urban setting as a good chunk of these two volumes are set on an Creed’s island which is heavily forested. The character designs aren’t too shabby, but some of the Disciples are bland and forgettable. Even the new Sweepers don’t exactly stick out as being particularly memorable. The action scenes are well handled though, clear and easy to follow, with the highlight being Eve vs. the flying surfboard kid in volume 15. It’s a creative and interesting fight in which she utilizes her hair as a weapon, a power I’m becoming increasingly fond of thanks to things like Millia in Guilty Gear XX, and the sequence in the second volume of Uzumaki. Yaduki does some neat things with this ability and it makes the fight visually engaging and fun to watch.

The story is pretty straightforward. The heroes, after gaining the information needed, team with some other random Sweepers and launch an assault on the big bad’s headquarters. Fights ensue. The characters don’t really come across particularly well, they generally seem smart and resourceful, but when just about all of the heroes seem this way it can be a bit meh. The Disciples of the Stars that they encounter are really just canon fodder with almost no history or back story given to any of them. When we do get some history it’s usually through exposition in the middle of the fight, which is something I’ve never been to happy with. Life stories should not be shared during battle unless it’s a distraction technique! Hopefully some of the new Sweepers will be fleshed out if they last long enough, but for the most part they’re just bodies as well. The dialogue is short and snappy, but still… the writing was decidely average.

These two volumes of Black Cat are decent enough, not particularly amazing. It’s doing a good job at being a competently put together shonen series with some nice art and ok, if not average, writing. Neither is a good jumping on point–that would be volume 13–but they both move the plot along with a nice twist and a strong action sequence. I still can’t really gush over the series, but once again there’s nothing really awful with it either. On the other hand if you’re a fan of the series these volumes are pretty key and important. According to a message from Yaduki in the front of volume 15, the battle with Creed is about to reach its climax, so you’ll definitely be wanting these opening rounds.

Volume 14 of Black Cat is available now. Volume 15 will be available on July 1, 2008.

Kekkaishi, Vol. 13

By Yellow Tanabe
Viz, 200 pp.
Rating: Teen

For many manga, picking up a volume which transitions from one story arc to another can be an exercise in pure tedium. Not so with volume thirteen of Yellow Tanabe’s Kekkaishi. Kekkaishi avoids this classic shonen pitfall by simply deviating from the shonen formula frequently. Though it has a male protagonist who battles his way towards bettering himself, and who “comes of age” (which is practically the definition of shonen manga), Kekkaishi is a peculiarity among the plethora of shonen manga available in the US. First, unlike most shonen manga here in the States, Kekkaishi does not run in Japan’s Shonen Jump magazine, but rather in the more moody and offbeat Shonen Sunday. Second, Kekkaishi has a relatively limited number of characters, compared with some of the huge ensemble casts like those in Bleach, Naruto, or One Piece. Third, we know the limited number of character so well that it’s actually refreshing seeing shifting gears after Kokuboro, and not a total drag.

The first half of volume thirteen is devoted to the completion of the epic Kokuboro arc. I won’t spoil how everything resolves, but it’s fun to see how the characters evolve when the going really gets tough. Afterwards, we are treated with a monster-of-the-day story that closely matches the pre-Kokuboro plot. Finally, we are introduced to a new character who is sure to dominate the next arc and have a story very much interwoven with that of Yoshimori and Tokine’s. My main complaint about this volume and the Kokuboro story arc as a whole has been Tokine’s reduced role. This doesn’t stop her from being several steps ahead of most other shonen manga female protagonists, but her strength of character is what makes it a shame that she takes back seat for so many volumes.

Interestingly, this series has always been compared in the manga blogosphere to Bleach, and I’ve often disagreed. Kekkaishi is more personal, more emotional, less overpowered and ridiculous, less conventional and ultimately much more human. What is strange though is how the general flow of the story arcs has matched Bleach’s so closely. Both have an initial “monster hunting” story arc in which we are introduced to the protagonists and the other main characters. Both Bleach’s Ichigo and Kekkaishi’s Yoshimori also cross spiritual dimensions to assault an enemy stronghold for the sake of a dear friend/comrade. The scope of the series is completely different though (just compare the marathon length of Bleach’s soul society arc to the relatively concise Kokuboro arc), and frankly this is a point in Kekkaishi’s favor. The Kekkaishi manga doesn’t feel drawn out by editorial requirement in the way that many Shonen Jump manga do⎯and that is a welcome relief.

Another high point of Kekkaishi is the smooth and almost anime-like art. Needless to say, the series’ art survived much better than most in the transition to anime. Though most characters are not terribly detailed, the protagonists look great and have very revealing facial expressions.

In case you couldn’t already tell, I think Kekkaishi is the bomb. This is in all honesty probably the best shonen manga I’ve ever read, and let me tell you, that’s a large sample size to choose from. This is an especially amazing feat considering that this is Yellow Tanabe’s first serialized manga. Ever. Compare this to other debut manga, such as Tite Kubo’s mundane Zombie Powder, or CLAMP’s awkward RG Veda, and you’ll realize just what a gem Kekkaishi truly is. It does have some of the same shonen hitches and is a bit formulaic at points, but this rarely detracts from its overall awesomeness.

Kekkaishi has also been made into a highly successful anime (and a Nintendo Wii game!) in Japan, that I recommend you check out ASAP. Sadly, it remains unlicensed in the states. Thankfully, said anime goes on hiatus after the Kokuboro arc rather than follow the abhorrent Bleach strategy of nauseating filler. Let’s hope that Yellow Tanabe’s both debut and masterpiece manga continue at the same amazing quality they have for these first thirteen volumes. Personally, I can’t wait for more!

Volume thirteen of Kekkaishi is available now.

Rosario + Vampire, Vol. 1

By Akihisa Ikeda
Viz, 192 pp.
Rating: Older Teen (16+)

Remember Rick Moranis in Gravedale High? From my rather vague recollections of Saturday morning cartoons growing up, I remember it being about a lone human in an all-monster high school. When I first looked at the cover to Rosario + Vampire, which, thanks to the magic of the Internet, you can see above and to the right, I groaned. A cover featuring a ridiculously short schoolgirl skirt hiked up far beyond the line of decency on a young woman of sexually superior proportions makes every warning siren in my head sound off all at once. The back cover doesn’t help any, with even more fanboy-bait imagery and a synopses that made me hope that Rick Moranis was the hapless lone human.

And, you know what? I was surprised. Not because Rosario + Vampire is good; it isn’t, by any stretch of the imagination. I was surprised because Rosario is not unforgivably horrible as I had anticipated. Yes, sexy vampire-girl Moka and nerdy-but-courageous-around-vampire-girl Tsukune aren’t the most likable characters I’ve ever met, and the whole premise of a secret high school for monsters, vampires, werewolves, and other mythological beasties to learn how to live alongside humans whilst somehow never being discovered by said humans is, at best, sketchy. But most of the comic did not grate at my nerves, and some of it even made me smile. Moka’s cute affection for Tsukune (and, by extension, Tsukune’s supposedly tasty blood) is actually amusing, as is the student body’s reaction to seeing the two together. Tsukune’s interactions with Moka’s “other” self–accessed when the vampire’s rosario, a cross-shaped pendant, is removed–are suitably tense. Characterization isn’t particularly deep but it’s still present, and both Moka and Tsukune show signs of believable growth, albeit small ones.

That said, Rosario + Vampire still falls into many of the same traps that others of its ilk do. The fanservice is blatant and wholly unnecessary (though I’d argue that fanservice is never necessary except when being parodied); I’ll trade all the panty shots in the world for three panels of thoughtful storytelling. The misunderstandings that arise between the two leads often should have been diffused before they ever got out of hand; even the most understandable one (involving a vampire’s weakness to water) could have been resolved with three simple words (“water hurts me”) followed by four simple words (“sorry, I didn’t know”). And, for a comic about youngsters with powers that occasionally do battle with other superpowered types, none of the villains have proven themselves memorable or likeable. All of the Bad Guys™ have questionable motives, and none have proven a match for Moka’s powerful dark side.

Rosario + Vampire isn’t as shallow as its cover and synopsis leads you to believe, but it does come close. Formulaic and wholly unoriginal, Rosario + Vampire doesn’t satisfy my ravenous narrative appetite. But don’t let that stop you from giving it at least a glance-through. You can do worse.

Volume one of Rosario + Vampire will be available on June 10th.

IWGP: Ikebukuro West Gate Park, Vols. 1-4

By Ira Ishida
Published by DMP
Rating: Mature (18+)

Who is IWGP intended for? Most likely, male audiences age 18 and above, who like their mystery fiction tinged with sex and violence. There’s a lot of that in the four volumes released so far, and even if IWGP’s macho streak seems a bit much at times, at least writer Ira Ishida keeps things moving at a brisk pace.

Based on a Japanese television drama, which in turn, was based on a novel, IWGP follows a group of urban youths who want to have a good time, but inevitably get embroiled in adventures involving the underworld. The main character is the street-smart Makoto, who at the beginning of volume one rescues a girl named Hikaru from some hoodlums on New Year’s Eve. At the titular Ikebukuro West Gate Park, they hook up with Makoto’s skirt-chasing buddy Masa and Hikaru’s friend Rika. Some wacky supporting characters are also introduced, including an otaku named Shun and Takashi, the dandyish leader of a local street gang.

For a short while, volume one coasts along on the sheer excitement of being young and good-looking. However, just when the reader might start confusing this with some teenage romance manga, Ishida reveals IWGP’s dark side.

Makato and friends live in a world where every pretty face hides some sinister secret, and if that sounds like the jacket blurb for a hard-boiled detective novel, it’s a fitting comparison, since IWGP certainly has crime fiction elements: the tough, cocky protagonist; criminals in supporting roles; bittersweet, if not altogether tragic endings. But at the same time, Ishida conveys a sincere message about how valuable friendships are, and there’s plenty of wacky humor and flashy art by Sena Aritou to balance out the sober codas.

It should be noted, however, that the friendships IWGP values most are those between men, which is consistent with the series’ emphasis on male toughness. Because Shun is the least masculine of Makoto’s group, he is often teased and made fun of. The only woman to break into the male circle is a character named Sachiko, but as it happens, Sachiko, who appears in volume three, underwent gender reassignment and is now as much a skirt-chaser as the other guys.

Generally, women are the reason Makoto and his friends get mixed-up in yakuza, drugs and prostitutes. Of course, these are pulp-style teenage girls, so their public faces never reflect their true feelings, and even more interestingly, there is a recurring theme that these females cannot be trusted. But even assuming IWGP exists in some hard-boiled version of reality, where normal women are too soft to survive without cunning or deception, what happens to them borders on misogyny. If you’re a female character in this world, you must be either mentally unstable, a sex worker, a bitch, or some combination of the three. At the very least, you must be a victim.

It’s possible the creators are simply pandering to their male audience, but when there are panels showing sprawled-out women who have been raped and strangled, or are otherwise being abused, it raises questions about whether this is indeed genre convention or if something else is up.

All four volumes of IWGP are available now.

Isaac Hale proves he’s man enough to review girl’s manga by teaming up with me to post a new edition of On the Shojo Beat. In this installment, we look at three books: the final volume of Absolute Boyfriend, the first volume of B.O.D.Y., and the final volume of Yurara. –Katherine Dacey

Absolute Boyfriend, Vol. 6

By Yuu Watase
Viz, 200 pp.
Rating: Older Teen

The great temptation I have faced in reviewing the sixth and final volume of Absolute Boyfriend is to not simply quote it and let it speak for itself. Trust me; any review I could have made is not as damning, or as unwittingly hilarious, as Absolute Boyfriend itself. Now don’t get me wrong, I dig Yuu Watase. She’s made some of my favorite series, namely Fushigi Yuugi and Ceres: Celestial Legend. When I picked up volume one of Absolute Boyfriend, I went in with high hopes: maybe it would be awesome! Maybe the characters would have personality, and Riiko wouldn’t be a self-loathing doormat. But alas, a decent manga was not to be.

To bring you up to speed with the series I bring you volume six’s “Story so far” segment word for word: “Lonely Riiko got more than she bargained for when she bought a lover figure from a mysterious website. Turned out to be a walking, talking (and kissing) android named Night. But when he gets recalled, Riiko suddenly realizes how much she cares for him. Night manages to escape Kronos Heaven and returns to Riiko, but the company sends another 01 model to bring him back. A superhuman battle ensues, and night emerges triumphant. He and Riiko embrace in the rain, promising to stay together forever”. To summarize: 1. Sex robot romances girl. 2. Sex robot leaves her. 3. Girl has multiple self-loathing episodes. 4. Robot battle ensues. 5. Random, yet obligatory, romance scene ensues. Yes. That’s the five volumes there. One part Chobits, one part all-male Bubblegum Crisis and one part Her Majesty’s Dog, with generous amounts of pure suck.

The plot of volume six is no better. For absolutely no reason, Riiko and Night finally consummate their relationship (yes, keeping it T-rated). Why they have sex now and had refrained earlier, is beyond even shojo logic. Like everything else in this series, the sex gets twisted into a pathetic plot device, and it magically repairs Night from his robot fight. “You’re back to normal!! But how?” Riiko exclaims. “Hmm, maybe it’s because we made love? Maybe my system registered me as your lover…and reset my inner circuits?” Night coyly responds to Riiko’s bulging doe eyes. Their sex reset his inner circuits and fixed his broken arm. Then they get “married.” Then in the next page the romantic competition, Soshi decides to go to Spain. Forever. After five volumes without a significant plot development, those five volumes of plot are shoved into the first 26 pages of volume six. Oh yeah, and the ending is the most stinking pile of contrived BS since Kare Kano.

The upside? Night is the hottest incarnation of Watase’s quintessential and recycled male romantic lead yet—though of course he looks 99% like Tamahome from Fushigi Yuugi. Shocker.

This volume also has a fairly mediocre short story to fill it out. Yawn.

All in all, Absolute Boyfriend has been a remarkably terrific example of just how bad shojo can be. The lessons learned within? 1. There’s no problem with middle school girls have sex with adult men 2. It’s okay to renege on the entire plot and conclusion in the last chapter 3. As long as your men are hot, who cares if they have no personality whatsoever?! If you’ve followed this series so far out of morbid fascination, check out this last volume from the library for a horror fest of epic proportions. Depending on your strength of your will you may or may not be able to actually trudge your way through it. Good bye to Absolute Boyfriend, and good riddance.

–Reviewed by Isaac Hale

B.O.D.Y., Vol. 1

By Ao Mimori
Viz, 192 pp.
Rating: Older Teen

In the first chapter of B.O.D.Y., sixteen-year-old Ryoko, a good girl who likes nice boys, declares her undying love for Ryunosuke, a seemingly reserved young man in her class. A chance run-in with Ryunosuke after school reveals that this quietly smoldering hottie is, in fact, a gigolo with an extensive clientele of beautiful older women. Though Ryoko loudly disavows him, Ryunosuke views her indignant bluster as a challenge and announces his intent to win her heart. Sounds like Dynasty for the Fruits Basket set, no? Alas, B.O.D.Y. quickly devolves into a run-of-the-mill romance in which a good girl discovers that the bad boy she thinks she hates is actually worthy of her interest. Manga-ka Ao Mimori attempts a few curveballs—introducing a second boy into the mix, for example—but is so determined to get to the Big Confession of Love scene that she forgets to develop her characters into something more than stereotypes. (She also seems to forget about Ryunosuke’s rather unsavory after school job—it’s as if she began writing a juicy blackmail story and then suffered complete amnesia mid-script.) The artwork, like the paint-by-numbers plot, leaves something to be desired. True, Mimori draws pretty boys—a skill that her core audience will not doubt appreciate—but all of her characters have the same basic face, complete with beestung lips; were it not for his glasses and artfully tousled ‘do, I might not have been able to distinguish Ryunosuke from Ryoko. The bottom line: B.O.D.Y. isn’t terrible, but it lacks the courage of its trashy convictions, settling for sappy romance instead something edgier and more fun.

–Reviewed by Katherine Dacey.

Yurara, Vol. 5

By Chika Shiomi
Viz, 192 pp.
Rating: Teen

In the final volume of Yurara, the titular character is forced to choose between the dark-haired Mei—who prefers Yurara in mousy schoolgirl mode—and the fair-haired Yako—who prefers Yurara as a sassy, butt-kicking ghostbuster. (For the record, I prefer Yurara in her latter incarnation as well; in regular-teen mode, she spends a lot of time weeping and running away from boys, i.e. being a lame-ass.) It’s not hard to understand why so many readers voiced a preference for Yako in their letters to manga-ka Chika Shiomi, as the brooding medium is less possessive and cocky than his romantic rival. But Shiomi makes a persuasive case for Mei as well, demonstrating the character’s capacity for selfless behavior. (In the previous volume, Mei earned some serious demerit points in this reader’s book for talking about Yurara as if she were a prized possession. Granted, my thirteen-year-old self would have found it Terribly Romantic that he vowed to “never let anyone else have Yurara,” but my thirty-something self… not so much.) The conclusion feels a little hasty, but ties up loose threads in a fashion that will satisfy Mei and Yako partisans alike as well as readers who view unabashedly happy endings as an affront to good gothic storytelling.

–Reviewed by Katherine Dacey

Welcome to the May edition of Manga Minis! This month’s crack team of reviewers includes our anime expert Carlos Alexandre, fellow manga maniacs Chloe Ferguson and Isaac Hale, and yours truly. Our survey runs the gamut from angst-ridden shojo to fanservice comedy and includes volume seven of After School Nightmare (Go!Comi), volume one of Foxy Lady (Tokyopop), volume nine of Kaze Hikaru (Viz), and the one-volume Gorgeous Life of Strawberry-Chan (Media Blasters).

After School Nightmare, Vol. 7

By Setona Mizushiro
Go!Comi, 200 pp.
Rating: 16+

Forget gender bending—the latest installment of Setona Mizushiro’s surreal horror masterpiece snaps gender in half and throws it out the window. Girl/boy protagonist Mashiro continues to grapple with his identity in the midst of drama so thick you could practically take a knife to it. On the rocks with onetime admirer Sou and ex-girlfriend Kureha, Mashiro is shocked to see the two begin a relationship—and to realize that his interest in Sou might just be called jealousy. Mizushiro in turn sends everyone into varying bouts of angst and self-reflection, choosing to plumb the depths of character backstory in place of nightmare-world action.

It’s clear that something funky is going on just about everywhere, but with every revelation comes a new, more twisted batch of questions. Mizushiro’s evidently gunning for the slow reveal, and even has the moxie to throw a serious new romantic player into the game this late. There’s the usual dose of metaphorical blood, violence and killing in the dream world, but the action this time around remains firmly rooted in the real, determined to pressure the characters into exhibiting just what they’ve learned from six volumes of nightmares. The result is a newly invigorated series that promises a strong end—and a maddeningly engrossing journey getting there.

–Reviewed by Chloe Ferguson

Foxy Lady, Vol. 1

By Ayun Tachibana
Tokyopop, 192 pp.
Rating: Older Teen (16+)

Foxy Lady is the by-the-numbers story of a boy named Jin and an attractive, skimpily dressed half-demon named Kogane, where the latter must mate with the former in order for the latter to turn human. Between Jin’s inexperience with women, Kogane’s superhuman powers, and the supporting cast’s various quirks creating a multitude of misunderstandings, Jin looks to have his proverbial hands full for quite some time. Hilarity and hjinx supposedly ensues.

What’s that genre called, the one that is all about magical girls wanting to get it on with ordinary teenage boys, that piles on layers and layers of fanservice at the expense of little extraneous things like characterization and plot? Because Foxy Lady is a textbook example of that genre. And just like pretty much every other anime and manga that falls under that genre, it is targeted at a very specific audience. Foxy Lady will likely satiate that audience, while leaving the rest of us yearning for something with a bit more depth.

–Reviewed by Carlos Alexandre

The Gorgeous Life of Strawberry-Chan

By Ai Morinaga
Anime Works, 192 pp.
Rating: Older Teen (16+)

Despite the arm-flapping, shouting, and profuse shedding of crocodile tears, not much actually happens in The Gorgeous Life of Strawberry-Chan, an odd collection of short stories about a talking frog who lives at an all-boys boarding school. Calling the thirty-odd chapters that comprise Gorgeous Life “stories” exaggerates their length and coherence; each chapter is really just a vehicle for risqué humor (e.g. boys in drag, boys in compromising positions) and violent slapstick. The yaoi japes are mildly amusing, but the frogsploitation is not. Morinaga clearly intended these scenes to be funny in an Itchy-and-Scratchy sort of way—see Strawberry-Chan’s owner flatten him with a shoe! see Strawberry-Chan’s owner bury him alive!—but the cumulative effect of so much sadistic behavior is exhaustion, not amusement. Making matters worse is the art. Morinaga’s fondness for busy backdrops (e.g., psychedelic swirls, pulsing plaids), extreme facial close-ups, and dark, indeterminate patches of screentone yield something akin to a manga migraine: hard on the eyes and the frontal lobes. Perhaps the editorial staff at Anime Works shared my reservations about Gorgeous Life, as their efforts seem half-hearted at best. Typos crop up throughout the text, as do awkward sentences and grammatical errors. The layout department chose an especially ugly font for the dialogue, adding another element of visual chaos to Morinaga’s cluttered layouts. In sum, The Gorgeous Life of Strawberry-Chan may not be the worst manga of 2008, but it certainly is a contender for the short list.

–Reviewed by Katherine Dacey

Kaze Hikaru, Vol. 9

By Taeko Watanabe
Viz, 200 pp.
Rating: Older Teen (16+)

Volume nine of Kaze Hikaru offers more of the same gender-bending shojo drama of previous volumes. Don’t be deceived by the swords and samurai outfits—this series is all about the shojo drama. Fortunately, the samurai action is hardly the main attraction of Kaze Hikaru. The true testament to Kaze Hikaru’s quality as a manga is that the gender-bending keeps a lot of the original humor it had at the beginning of the run. Even though many of the main characters are perfectly aware of the protagonist’s female identity, many of the Shinsengumi do not, resulting in humurous homosexual under/overtones. The strange gender interactions and running inside-joke is really what keeps this series at its running high quality. The series’ art is another high point. Even with the traditional hair cuts and period outfits, the character designs are still fairly attractive and unique.

Unfortunately, the gender-bending that makes Kaze Hikaru so fun is its main flaw as well. After nine volumes and lots of time passing, it seems a little silly that Sei is unclear on which characters know about her gender and which don’t. This is kind of confusing, and makes it especially difficult for readers trying to jump into the story now. Also in true romantic shojo style, not a whole lot happens in this volume. As is often frustrating in manga romances, the relationship buildup is full of self-doubt and constant backpedaling. If Sei weren’t such an entertaining character, this series would fall easily into mediocrity. Fortunately, Kaze Hikaru’s fine-tuned sense of style and character depth make it a comic worth reading.

–Reviewed by Isaac Hale

Yozakura Quartet, Vol. 1

By Suzuhito Yasuda
Del Rey, 224 pp.
Rating: 13+

In Manga The Complete Guide Jason Thompson has a very nice essay about the American super hero comics genre and how they relate to manga:

“Manga hereos generally fight for personal reasons, to protect the ones close to them – this line is repeated in countless manga – unlike American superheroes, who traditionally patrol the world looking for trouble… In manga, it is typically villians who are obsessed with abstract morality, whereas the good guys are concerned with their family and friends.”

Goku, for example, is fighting for his friends and family, and Naruto fights to protect his village.

This concept is incredibly important in understanding Yozakura Quartet. Hime is the teenage girl mayor of the small town of Sakurashin, and as such she is also the town’s protector. Hime works out of a small office with Ao, Kotoha, and Akina, other super-powered teens with the exception of Akina, who is just an ordinary boy. Hime accepted her position at a tender young age when the previous village leader died. Sakurashin has some kind of demon problem, and is surrounded by seven gigantic holy pillars, like smokestacks.

Ao is a cat-eared demon with the ability to read minds. Kotoha has the ability to fight with words (reminiscent of Loveless) and she wears fetish glasses… I wonder where one can purchase megane-fetish frames (like in Air Gear)?

I don’t read traditional super hero titles because I’m uninterested in the premise and I can’t take a lot of bikinis and cleavage. I am very enthusiastic about a teenage girl mayor and friends, however, this is shonen manga, so the fetishy socks and skirts tend towards a Charlie’s Angels¹ atmosphere (where Charlie is an meek school boy checking receipts). There isn’t a lot of cleavage, but there is otaku fanservice.

The girls aren’t just kicking demon/serial killer ass all the time, they also end up staffing an underfunded kindergarten and caring for a lost puppy, which reinforce traditional gender roles in a disappointing way.

I enjoyed the art of the book, with dark, dark inks. I found the character design appealing, but the action a little hard to follow. It’s no Q-Ko Chan, but I to re-read several sequences.

By the end of the book I found myself wishing I was watching an anime version of the property. Anime tends to smooth out manga story problems and weak action scenes in the transition to storyboard. Exactly one month after the release of the first volume, an anime series was announced.

Del Rey has an uncanny knack of picking up manga with related anime titles. Mamotte Lollipop had a 2006 anime series which was recently picked up by Funimation. Nine volumes of The Wallflower were released Stateside before the anime began airing in Japan. Almost every Del Rey title I can think of has an anime series attached (exceptions: My Heavenly Hockey Club, Love Roma, Q-Ko Chan).

Yozakura Quartet was heavily marketed as a super-hero title, but I’ll be reaching for volume two for moe reasons (megane, cat-ears, tsundere – or tsunshun).

¹ I didn’t pull the Charlie’s Angels comparison out of thin air – the editor mentions the title in a comic in the author’s notes.

Yozakura Quartet, Vol. 2

By Suzuhito Yasuda
Del Rey, 224 pp.
Rating: 16+

My disappointment in Yozakura Quartet volume 2 is as deep as the Huautla cave in Mexico (as featured in Yakitate Japan! volume 10). I became really attached to Hime and Kotoha in volume one, but they are largely absent from volume two. Rather than developing existing characters further, additional characters are introduced as Yasuda further explores Sakurashin and its relationship with demons.

When vampires were introduced in the second chapter it took a lot of self-restraint not to throw the book against the wall and scream, “Damnit! I didn’t sign up for this! Why does it always have to be vampires?!” Fortunately, the twin kid vampires are used as a vehicle to introduce the rules of Sakurashin’s demons, and only reappear briefly.

It turns out ramen delivery girl Rin is a Jiang Shi, a hopping corpse, which is cool, because I have not read a lot of manga featuring hopping corpses (like Zombie Loan).

The premise is interesting enough: Out-of-skew with their own dimension, demons/vampires/Jiang Shi have strange powers and lack immortality in the human word. Sakurashin is a unique city where demons are allowed to live and work in peace before dying human-like deaths or being “tuned”.

Outside of more backstory and more character introductions and foreshadowing, nothing actually happens in volume two. The author admits in the extensively padded-out afterword that he did not paginate volume one correctly and all the short, crappy stories in volume two were intended to be included in volume one. His explanation makes sense, but it comes off as a lame apology for an inexcusably bad second volume.

“There is a saying among manga readers,” Yasuda remarks in the afterword, “Manga done by illustrators aren’t interesting.” I had never heard this saying before, but now I wonder, why was the art so much worse in volume two if Yasuda has a background as an illustrator? If Yasuda has three assistants, why are so many of his backgrounds gray gradient fills?!

In one chapter all the characters, including the new extended cast, get drunk at sakura viewing picnic, thus the jump in age rating from 13+ to 16+. Unfortunately we haven’t gotten to know the characters well enough for this chapter to be funny. This chapter is representative of the filler arc feel of the book.

And all that stuff I said about heroes and the theme about protecting the town? Forget about it! It turns out Hime is just a town mayor, a chouchou instead of a shichou. Her role as a protector seems altered in light of the revealed purpose of Sakurashin.

“The story is going to really start moving in volume 3,” Yasuda assures us. But will it be too little too late?

Volumes one and two of Yozakura Quartet are available now.